Improved hydraulic propeller



2 SheetsSheet 1.

J. B. BOOTH. HYDRAULIC PROPELLEB.

No. 38,724. Patented June 2, 1863.

THE NDRMS PETERS coy. FHOTO-LITHQ. wuumuon. v. c.

2 Sheets- Sheet 2.

J. B. BOOTH.

HYDRAULIC PROPELLER.

No. 38,724. Patented June Z, 1863.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH B. BOOTH, OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA.-

IMPROVED HYDRAULIC PROPELLER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,724, dated June 2,1863.

To all iohom it may concern Be it known that I, JosEPH B. BOOTH, of

Portsmouth, in the county of Norfolk, in the- State of Virginia, haveinvented a how, improved, and useful propeller of vessels; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof, reference bein g had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon.

The nature. and superiority of my invention consistin its being thelegitimate deductions of the laws of nature. It has been advocated bymechanics that the greatest speed that can be achieved by mechanicalpropulsion in water is fromtwenty (20) to twenty-five (25) miles perhour. I am satisfied, from natural history. that the speed of severalfishes is as high as one hundred (100) miles per hour, and the adoptionof the principles of animated nature 1 can propel a vessel from thirty(30) to sixty (60) miles .per hour.

Another superiority of my improvement consists in the fact that it is tobe placed in the interior of the vessel and below the waterline, andthat it can be placed either in a horizontal, in a diagonal, or in anupright position, and that I can get any length of stroke desirable,which has been so much claimed 7 by engineers as being advantageous tosidewheel steamers.

Another superior ity of my improvement is.

that I have placed the cranks at the four points of a circle, by which Iobviate the difficulty of what is called by mechanics the dead-points?in a crank. I

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction.

Figure l is a perspective specially exhibitin g the'stern of the vesseland the outer end of the cylinders s s s' 8. Fig. 2 is a top view. Fig.3 is a detail of the connecting-rod and piston. Fig. 4c is a sectionalview through or on A and B.

a'is the steam engine or cylinder; b, the connecting-rod from the engineto the crankshaft c; c, the crank-shaft, on the outer ends of which areplaced spur-wheels d d;' d d,

spur-wheels placed on the outer ends of the crank-shaft c, and areconnected with and work into ,pinions; g g, the pinions, one-half thediameter of the spur-wheels; e c, plumbblocks, in or on which is placedthe crankshaft o, and by which it is supported and in which it works; ee,-plumb-blocks for intermediate shafts, ff; f, Fig. 4, intermediateshafts, on the ends of which are placed disks h h h h, (the shafts seenonly'in Fig. 4,f;) gg, two pinions, one-halfv the diameter of thespur-wheels d (I, placed on the intermediate shafts, f f, and made towork into'the two spurwheels; h h h h, disks placed on the ends of theintermediate shafts, ff; k k m m,cranks on the disks h h h h, on whichare placed con-' necting: rods It'll n 'n n a, attached to the pistonso0 0 0, the cranks in m twice the length 'of k k, so .as to' take on therods a a; a n n" n a n, six connecting-rods, four of which are connectedwith the propelling-cylinders p p p p, and two, a. n, are connected withcylinders for backing the vessel 12' p. The connectingrods areputintoand out of working position by means of a lever in the usual way.Four cylinders, p p p p, are for propelling the vessel forward, and twoof the cylinders, p p, are for backing the vessel, and are placed in thevessel, oppositeto those in the stern, as seen in, the drawings andindicated by the letters of reference marked thereon.

I do not confinemyself to any specific num ber of cylinders.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,i's' The construction and combinationiof the cylinders and pistons,thecrank shaft, and the intermediate shaft, and the pinions and cranks,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand in thepresence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH B. BOOTH.

Witnesses v J. D. WILLOUGHBY, O. B; KEYES.

